Highland Cattle Scenes
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Research by Susan Auty
Acc No 191 Cattle at a Lakeside Drinking
Acc No 192 Cattle Wading in a Lake Artist Charles W Oswald Artist dates b. 1850 Medium Oil on canvas Size 24 x 19.5 in (61.0 x 49.5 cm) Date painted Unknown Donor Mrs F M Mather, Lytham St Annes Date donated 19 March 1945 |
Cattle wading in a Lake by
Charles W Oswald
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Cattle at a Lakeside Drinking by Charles W Oswald
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ARTIST
Charles W Oswald was born in Liverpool and is known to have had an exhibition at the Walker Gallery in 1892. Not much else is known about him other than the fact that he was a prolific painter of Highland cattle and landscapes. Judging from various auctions throughout
the years, the two on display in the Gallery are very typical of his work.
PAINTING
Unlike Thomas Sidney Cooper (1803-1902), who was still active although very elderly at the time of Oswald’s exhibit, Oswald did not focus on the individuality of each animal and showed no evidence of studying their anatomy or particular details, excepting perhaps their horns, a distinctive feature of Highland cattle. Guided by Highland breed specifications of 1885, (1) we can surmise that most of the cattle shown in the 'Wading' picture are cows because their horns come square out from the head and are longer than those of males. A very wide sweep of horns was desirable in females. The expressions of the animals in the 'Wading' painting are also quite maternal and feminine, excepting perhaps the dark animal with the unusual horns in the back of the group. There is also the calf in the foreground that suggests a female gathering.
Like Cooper, Oswald used the different colours of the herd to allow easy discrimination of individual animals. He shows almost the full range of Highland cattle colours. In the interests of showing off each animal’s eyes, Oswald has made their hair shorter on the face than would be usual: the breed standards of 1885 call for a forelock that is 'wide, long and bushy'.
The cattle in the 'Drinking' picture are less differentiated than those in the wading scene, with mostly their profiles on display rather than facial expressions. The composition is therefore arguably less interesting than that in 'Wading'. The animals do not seem as big or full as one would expect from this very hardy breed.
The Highland scenery in both paintings is almost gothic in its indistinct menace with the calmness of the cattle contrasting with their glowering surroundings. Highland cattle are known to thrive on poor mountain land with a lot of rain and wind, able to graze and breed on unpromising hills and uplands. The hills in these paintings appear to be steeper and darker than is usual in the Highlands, especially in the 'Drinking' scene, perhaps indicating that they were not painted 'en plein' air. Other examples of his work present much more convincing landscape scenes; it is possible that he supplemented his output back at the studio and painted impressionistic backgrounds in place of real landscapes. The generic non-place specific titles of many of his paintings support this theory.
REFERENCES
http://www.highlandcattlesociety.com/highland_breed/standards.aspx
PCF (2012), Oil Paintings in Public Ownership, Lancashire, Public Catalogue Foundation, London, p.266
Charles W Oswald was born in Liverpool and is known to have had an exhibition at the Walker Gallery in 1892. Not much else is known about him other than the fact that he was a prolific painter of Highland cattle and landscapes. Judging from various auctions throughout
the years, the two on display in the Gallery are very typical of his work.
PAINTING
Unlike Thomas Sidney Cooper (1803-1902), who was still active although very elderly at the time of Oswald’s exhibit, Oswald did not focus on the individuality of each animal and showed no evidence of studying their anatomy or particular details, excepting perhaps their horns, a distinctive feature of Highland cattle. Guided by Highland breed specifications of 1885, (1) we can surmise that most of the cattle shown in the 'Wading' picture are cows because their horns come square out from the head and are longer than those of males. A very wide sweep of horns was desirable in females. The expressions of the animals in the 'Wading' painting are also quite maternal and feminine, excepting perhaps the dark animal with the unusual horns in the back of the group. There is also the calf in the foreground that suggests a female gathering.
Like Cooper, Oswald used the different colours of the herd to allow easy discrimination of individual animals. He shows almost the full range of Highland cattle colours. In the interests of showing off each animal’s eyes, Oswald has made their hair shorter on the face than would be usual: the breed standards of 1885 call for a forelock that is 'wide, long and bushy'.
The cattle in the 'Drinking' picture are less differentiated than those in the wading scene, with mostly their profiles on display rather than facial expressions. The composition is therefore arguably less interesting than that in 'Wading'. The animals do not seem as big or full as one would expect from this very hardy breed.
The Highland scenery in both paintings is almost gothic in its indistinct menace with the calmness of the cattle contrasting with their glowering surroundings. Highland cattle are known to thrive on poor mountain land with a lot of rain and wind, able to graze and breed on unpromising hills and uplands. The hills in these paintings appear to be steeper and darker than is usual in the Highlands, especially in the 'Drinking' scene, perhaps indicating that they were not painted 'en plein' air. Other examples of his work present much more convincing landscape scenes; it is possible that he supplemented his output back at the studio and painted impressionistic backgrounds in place of real landscapes. The generic non-place specific titles of many of his paintings support this theory.
REFERENCES
http://www.highlandcattlesociety.com/highland_breed/standards.aspx
PCF (2012), Oil Paintings in Public Ownership, Lancashire, Public Catalogue Foundation, London, p.266
